Finding A Light In Darkness
by OfficialEvilRegal
Summary: For twenty years, the Mistress of All Evil remained trapped on an island full of fools, idiots, and imbeciles. There had once been a time when her name was feared, when her power was great…people even rumored that she once held all the powers of Hell at her command, Now look at her…spilling the history of her miserable life in darkness to her reforming daughter.


**New story folks…though a rather short one. The whole story should be no longer than five to seven chapters, least that's what I plan.**

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PRESENT DAY

It had been a week since the Coronation Day, four days since the heroes released Maleficent into the care of her daughter Mal, who trapped her in a glass jar and left her on her bedside table, and two days since Mal had left to spend the weekend with Ben at his castle leaving her being watched over by Evil Queen Grimhilde's daughter Evie, who spent more time studying/flirting with that munchkin looking dwarf Dopey's son, Doug.

To say that Maleficent was happy would be the understatement of the year…she was far from happy, she was downright pissed. Not only had those damned heroes brainwashed her only child, but they had refused to turn her back into her human form, as Fairy God Mother said… "If you really wanna turn back…learn to love again."

As if she'd ever give love another shot, for it to what, ruin her again….it was because of love she was even in this predicament in the first place. No matter how small it maybe…she still held a love for her daughter, the only love she'd hold above evil and power was for her daughter, no matter how many times she disappoints her. All she wanted was for her daughter to be just like her…to not make the same mistakes she was making…to not be the failure herself turned out to be. And now she could see it…clearly, her baby girl was heading down the same misguided path she had took all because she refused to listen to her own mother, Malvina, The Black Fairy.

Oh if her mother could only see her now…shrunken to the size of a salamander. And she could hear her mother words as if she was in the room: "You've no one but yourself to blame Maleficent…love is weakness."

"Love…love…love…screw it," thought Maleficent, before the sound of a lock twisting caused her to turn her head to see her daughter Mal walking in with Beast Jr., as Maleficent preferred to call him.

How happy her daughter looked…the glow in her eyes as she spoke with Ben who walked in, still holding Mal's hand with a goofy grin that looked all too familiar for Maleficent's liking. She rolled her lizard eyes as she observed the two teens looking as if they were amongst the moon and the stars themselves...had you told Maleficent a month ago that her daughter would become this, she'd have spit in your face and call you every name but a child of God, but alas…there her daughter stood, smitten and in love.

Just as Ben and Mal leaned in to share one final kiss before their night ended, Maleficent cleared her throat to remind them that she was still in the room, causing the two teenagers to jump before staring back at the purple salamander who seemed to hiss in anger. "Well…well…well, quite the doe eye look you're sharing with my daughter, Prince Ben…" said Maleficent, letting the disdain show through her voice. "I think I'm gonna hurl."

"Mother…" sighed Mal, narrowing her eyes at the salamander.

"No…no…no Mal, it's alright," interrupted Ben, who turned to look at the mother of his girlfriend. "Good evening to you too Miss Maleficent," he smiled.

"What's so good about it…I'm trapped like this," responded Maleficent. "Least you can use your posable thumbs, _your majesty_."

Mal seeing her mother's temper starting to rise decided to hurry up and finish her night with Ben. "Gee, well, thanks Ben for tonight…I really enjoyed myself," she hurriedly said, while grabbing a hold of her boyfriend's arm, attempting to lead him to the door.

"Hold up …hold up Mal, there's something I have to do first," Ben responded, pulling a sealed envelope out of his coat pocket. The letter was addressed to Maleficent, its not-so-good handwriting by King Beast who despite being human for the past twenty seven years, still wrote as if he still had only two paws. "My um…my dad asked me to give this to you," he said placing it down on Mal's bedside table, next to the glass jar that imprisoned Maleficent.

"You're handing this to me as if I can get out this jar, open it, and read it," sassed Maleficent. "Clearly you didn't get mommy's brains," she snorted.

Maleficent half expected Ben to sass her back, but glanced up to meet his eyes to see nothing but pity and if she wasn't mistaken…sympathy. It was a look she had been given constantly from her daughter ever since Coronation Day. She watched as he mouthed the words: I'm so sorry, to her…obviously so Mal wouldn't hear them. Maleficent tilted her salamander head in question, wondering whatever he could be sorry for.

"Goodnight Mal," said Ben, before leaning in to give her a quick peck before heading out the door. "Good dreams!" he jokingly yelled with a grin as he walked down the hallway.

"Evil dreams!" responded Mal in the same joking matter, a blushing smile across her face as she closed the door behind her. Leaning with her back against the door, Mal beamed with delight as her disapproving mother watched on. "What?" she asked upon noticing.

"My baby girl…my little imp…in love with a prince. Someone pinch me," drawled Maleficent. "It's too terrible to be true!"

"What's so terrible about it mom…I mean really…what has goodness and love really ever done to you?" questioned Mal, whose hands raised to her hips, wanting to know an answer she secretly wondered her entire life.

"Let's see…it killed me, it destroyed me, it imprisoned me, and it's turned my only child against me….other than that, love and I are peachy cream," retorted Maleficent.

"I haven't turned against you mother…" sighed Mal, as she walked over to sit on her bed, gazing down at her mother. "I turned against what we once represented."

"What do you mean us? I'm still bad…wicked…despicable," replied a proud Maleficent. "I'm the Mistress of All Evil."

"Not entirely….there's still love in you somewhere. For me," laughed Mal. "Or else everyone would have been toast back on Coronation Day."

Maleficent could only snort at that…her daughter had a point there. The love for her daughter made her lose the stare down at the Coronation, thus shrinking her to the size of the love in her heart. _"Love was my undoing…mother was right about that."_

"Now what's this?" Mal asked, picking up the letter addressed to her mother from King Beast. "Whatever would King Beast be writing to you about?"

"Execution time."

"I doubt that mother," laughed Mal, before opening the letter and unfolding it to read it aloud.

Dear Maleficent,

Words cannot describe the guilt I face every day for how things transpired in the past, and even though you may never forgive me, I just have to get this off my chest. I am sorry…I know you may find it hard to believe, but I truly am. For thirty six years, we have been enemies…we made each other what we were…a beast and a villain. But I won't take this time to reflect on our painful, terrible history…instead I write you to apologize for everything I've ever done to you. I wish for there to be peace between us, and hopefully one day, no hard feelings…not for our sake, but for our children, who are as madly in love as we once were. Isn't fate a bitch…ha-ha…I see ourselves in them, and I know you see it too. Let's give them our blessing, and allow them to find the happiness we were too young and stupid to understand, and just gave up on. And don't you give up on your own happy ending, and I'm not talking about one filled with curses and taking over kingdoms, I mean one that's filled with happiness, joy, & love. I found mine with Belle, and if she can love a beast, then there's a fella out there who can love a villain.

Sincerely, King "Beast" Adam.

"M-mother…" began Mal, after reading over the letter three times to make sure that she was reading it correctly. "Damn that man still has a way with words," scoffed Maleficent, absent-mindedly.

"Mother!" shouted Mal, gaining her mother's attention. "What is this about? You and King Beast…you…him…that's what you meant by "in another time, in another time" at Coronation Day when you were checking him out! Sweet Merlin I'm going to be sick!"

"Calm down child, we were children back then. Over thirty six years ago to be exact," replied a flustered Maleficent. "It was…it was so long ago, it doesn't really even matter anymore."

"What did you do? What does he mean you were the reason he became a beast?"

"How about what he did that made me what I am?"

"What happened?" asked Mal, clearly interested in the history of her mother rather than the bits and pieces she was told, and had to put together herself. She stared into her mother's salamander eyes, showing that she was not going to let up on this subject easily. "Evie's with Doug in Jay and Carlos's room…so we have the room to ourselves for a while."

"Drop it Mal…" warned Maleficent.

"No…no I won't drop it," retorted Mal. "What turned you against love so…what changed you?"

"I'll skip over the details…" replied Maleficent. "King Beast and I were childhood friends you can say…I met him when I was in the forest, I had just run away from home, away from your grandmother Malvina, the Black Fairy…and the darkest fairy there'll probably ever be! You think I like being evil, woo…your grandmother was a woman who cursed entire kingdoms to slumber, all before sundown! She was truly…"

"Mom…" interrupted Mal. "You're getting off subject."

"Yes…yes…of course. Oh but I bet your grandmother's down there listening…"

"Down where?"

"Down below where the goblins go," Maleficent rhymed with a shake of her salamander head. "Anywhoo…he sort of took me in I guess. He actually managed to sneak me inside the castle, and hide me out. He gave me food when he could, and we were still only kids during all of this, and…

FLASHBACK: THIRTY NINE YEARS AGO

 _"Psst…psst! Maleficent!" called out an eleven year old Adam, who carried a plate of strawberries with him. He walked up the winding staircase, up to the upmost tower where he had hid out his close friend. When he approached the door, he knocked, and it opened to reveal a small circular room where a ten year old Maleficent was drawing on paper, often pulling on her pigtailed purple hair. His friend had a knack for art, and it showed through her vivid sketches of magical creatures she had seen. "I brought you a snack!" he exclaimed with a smile._

 _"Ooohh….strawberries! Gimme! Gimme!" she excitedly said, patting the space beside her for Prince Adam to sit down beside her. "Mmm…" she moaned as she began to go through the strawberries one by one._

 _"Hey…hey, slow down, you're gonna give yourself a tummy ache," warned Prince Adam with a laugh, which Maleficent responded to with a giggle of her own, mainly due to embarrassment. "Nice work…this one new?" he asked._

 _"Yep."_

 _"What is it?"_

 _"That's just a water sprite."_

 _"You're really good," said Prince Adam as he sorted through Maleficent's sketches, one in particular catching his interest. "Who's this?" he asked picking up the drawing of a green skinned woman, dressed from head to toe in long black and red robes. A scepter with an orb was on its tip and a black raven perched on her shoulder._

 _"That's just my mom…" came a timid response from Maleficent._

 _"The Black Fairy?" said Adam. "You ran away from?"_

 _"The one and only," answered Maleficent, a saddened look on her face. Her mother was one of the most terrifying creatures in the land…she even terrified her own daughter. A heart of darkness was one Maleficent never wanted, and was part of the reason she ran away from her mother…she didn't want to be her. "Hopefully she'll never find me."_

 _"You're that scared of your own mom?" questioned Adam, and by the silent response he received from Maleficent, he gained his answer. "Do you love her?"_

 _"Yes…" came another timid response, obviously standing to answer both of his questions._

 _"What about her…do you think she loves you?"_

 _It took a minute for Maleficent to truly wonder about that question…did her mother love her. Any other child would have jumped at the word yes, but after all the magical beatings, the scolding, constant disappointments, the dread of her presence, and the darkness…deep in her heart, Maleficent knew her answer. "No….no she doesn't."_

 _"Well, who cares what your mother thinks!" exclaimed Adam, causing Maleficent to glance in his direction in shock. "I like you!" he added, a blush soon rising to his face as he realized the wording of his words. "I mean…uhhh…you know…hmmm…c'mon Maleficent…you know what I mean!" he said, nervously scratching the back of his head._

 _He was stunned into silence by the kiss on his cheek, causing him to turn to look at a blushing, smiling Maleficent. "I know what you mean Adam…and I like you too," was all Maleficent said before she went back to her drawing, with a dazing prince watching her._

END of FLASHBACK

"Ooohh mom…" cooed Mal with a mischievous grin.

"Oh shut up Mal," retorted Maleficent, who if she was in human form would surely blush from mortification. "As I said that was all a long time ago, and …"

"You just can't stop there!"

"And why not?"

"Because…because…" began Mal. "I wanna know your side of the story…you've always told me how the heroes deserved to be punished, but you never told me why! I'll tell you what…if what King Beast did to you was truly terrible…I may even reconsider my recent change of sides."

"Really Mal?" asked Maleficent, suspicion in her voice.

"Really," replied Mal, crossing her fingers behind her back. "I will tear this place apart looking a for a spell to change you back, and together…we'll bring an end to them. I may not be as rotten to the core as I used to be…but I'm still quite the bad apple."

"No finger crossies Mal?" questioned Maleficent.

"Nope," replied Mal, uncrossing her fingers but instead crossing her toes. "None at all. Now tell me what happened next or deal's off!"

"Your grandmother Malvina…my mother happened next," answered Maleficent.


End file.
